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Two men have been arrested in Zambia accused of being “witches” and tasked with trying to cast a spell on the president.
Police said they had arrested Jasten Mabulesse Candunde and Leonard Phiri in the capital, Lusaka.
“Their alleged mission was to use spells to harm” President Hakainde Hichilema, police said in a statement released Friday.
Many people in this southern African country believe in witchcraft and live in fear.
Police said Candunde and Phiri were hired by Nelson Banda, the younger brother of MP Emmanuel “Jay Jay” Banda.
The MP was reportedly arrested last month in neighboring Zimbabwe on theft charges, which he denies, but has not been seen in public.
He is also accused of escaping from custody in August while awaiting a court appearance.
The opposition party Patriotic Front (PF), led by former president Edgar Lungu, has previously alleged that these charges are politically motivated.
Emmanuel Banda, an independent MP since 2021, was previously associated with Lungu, who lost the presidency to Hichilema that year.
In their statement, police said the MP’s younger brother, Nelson, was “currently at large”.
Candunde and Phiri have been charged under the Zambia Witchcraft Act with “possession of spells”, “professing knowledge of witchcraft” and “cruelty to wild animals”.
The couple was found in possession of “various amulets”, including a live chameleon, police added.
They told police they had been promised more than 2 million Zambian kwacha (£58,000; $73,000) for their “mission”, according to the police statement.
The suspects are in custody and will appear in court “soon,” police said, but did not give an exact date for the hearing. They have yet to comment publicly on the allegations.
